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A guide to reforming urban laws in Africa

Published at: 15 March 2018

The extraordinary projected rate of urban growth in Africa between now and 2030 highlights the need for laws and regulations that will create and shape cities that work more efficiently and treat citizens more fairly. In Reforming Urban Laws in Africa: A practical guide, authors Stephen Berrisford and the late Patrick McAuslan focus on strengthening efforts to improve the legal framework within which urban areas are planned, managed, governed and financed to create cities that are more sustainable, inclusive and efficient.

According to Berrisford and McAuslin, “New urban infrastructure has to be provided, new areas for urban growth developed, and new systems of governing and managing cities put in place. All this has to be done in accordance with laws that provide clarity, give everyone a fair hearing, prepare cities for a climate-change-resilient future and create efficient systems of decision-making and administration.”

And bearing in mind the rapid rate at which African cities are growing, it needs to be done quickly.